Journey of a Lifetime
by CasualGamerArtist
Summary: Twenty years old and in college, Zak is a young adult who's struggling with the stressful tasks of the real world and wants to escape it all. On one fateful night, he wishes upon a seemingly ordinary star to be taken away from this world and to experience a new one. But, he doesn't expect it to actually work, and wakes up in a world that's even more dangerous then his own.
1. Prologue: A New Life

**Now, this idea was originally thought up a few years ago when I was still doodling in notebooks rather than sketchbooks. But back then, I'll admit, I didn't have the patience to write it out. But it was an interesting concept! Just like the plot, it was a story about how a human is turned into a bat and thrown into the world of Silverwing, and joining the main characters on their quest to Hibernaculum.**

**The project itself was sparked back up from other stories like this, such as AmazingWriteronWing's 'Twilight Night' series and, most recently, Lilgrimmapple's 'Gone Batty'. Both can be found on this site!**

**Now, I'd like to point out that this is a self-insert story. Some people may not be a fan of it and may just ignore this story altogether. Which is perfectly fine, because you can't be forced or force others to like it, even if it's well written or the focus is still on the original main characters more and only occasionally on the self-insert him/herself.**

**So, a friendly reminder: If you don't like the story, just move along.**

**Other than that, I hope you all enjoy this! I'll be uploading chapters one by one as they are finished.**

**Please give a review and tell me what you think!**

* * *

_Have you ever felt stressed out from life? Has it ever gotten to a certain point where you wished you could be taken away from the real world and spend a day? Several days? Maybe even a few months someplace completely different? Maybe someplace in a story? A movie? I hit one of those points before. And I'll say it honestly…I sometimes think it was both an amazing and a terrifying wish._

_But what wish did I make exactly? What do I mean by terrifying and amazing?_

_Well…it's a bit of a long story._

_To understand what I mean, I'll start at the beginning. This is the story of an adventure I never thought I would have. A story of how I had been changed to understand of just how much alike we humans are to animals and the daily struggles we share. Or in this case…nightly struggles._

_This is a story…of how I went from a man struggling in the real world...to a bat in a much bigger and more dangerous world than my own._

* * *

The air wasn't too bad.

Actually, it wasn't bad at all.

Even after the middle of October, and in the late evening, it was still surprisingly warm and cool outside, only the slightest chill happening every few hours when the wind blew. The smell of freshly fallen leaves in the evening dew added a nice calming touch to it, too. But it did little to soothe the only soul who wondered through the trees and bushes of the woods. A young man, in his early twenties, trudged through the leaves. He wasn't in a particularly happy mood. The young adult, Zak, gave a sigh as he passed under a fallen tree. An hour before he went into the woods, he had gotten into an argument with his parents. If he had to be honest, he felt like his anger was justified. It was the same lecture over and over again.

What's your future? What're you going to do for a career? Why don't you go out and make friends? It isn't right to be alone all the time.

It was the same questions over and over again. This time, he was sick of it and snapped back. He hated how his parents were always on his case about what he chose to do with his time and life. And friends? Well, he didn't have that many for sure. He had cousins and relatives, but, it wasn't exactly the same thing. He always found himself to be more comfortable when he was by himself. Although he did talk to other people once in a while, he always felt better being on his own. This was something else his folks were concerned about. They said he needed to socialize with others more.

Plus, he loved to draw and write. These were two other hobbies he enjoyed, even though they tended to take up most of his time after he was done with work and chores. This too also concerned his folks, even though they supported his interests.

"'_We're only trying to help you be ready for life._'" Zak bitterly mimicked what his dad had said, "Yeah, right. More like trying to make sure I don't go and screw up my own future." He muttered, kicking a small pile of leaves, scattering the multicolored fragments in the air. After the argument, instead of going to his room like he always did, he decided he didn't want to be in the same building as his parents and went out. He could still hear his mom calling out to him to wait and trying to say sorry. He ignored her and kept walking. Eventually, he ended up in the woods just outside of his hometown.

It was a nice place. The people were friendly. Also, it felt good to live somewhere different.

This went through Zak's mind as he decided to sit and rest, sighing deeply as he took in his surroundings. It felt nice to get out and away from the house for a while. It gave him time to think and go over his own life for a bit. But, really, he only wanted to be on his own. Walking always helped him to calm down and relax. He sat there for a few minutes, listening to the sound of the wind blowing through the trees, the late autumn birds singing and his own breathing.

But that was broken by the chime of his phone. A text message coming through.

Taking it out, he tapped the screen to see who was trying to message him. Only one look at the screen and he frowned.

It was from his mom.

* * *

_**Please come back. We're sorry.**_

* * *

Zak deleted the message entirely, without hesitation, and locked his phone. Did they really think a simple apology would calm him down?

No. It wouldn't.

"Well," The boy sighed, getting up and dusting off the seat of his pants, "Guess I should head back anyways. Not going home, but, not much daylight left to stay here." With that, he turned around and began to trek back the way he came, the sun still bright enough to light his way. The orange glow of it gave the forest an almost peaceful and gentle setting. At least until the sun went down. Then it would feel more creepy and foreboding. Zak couldn't help but feel uneasy as he noticed how fast the sun was dropping. The lower it got, he darker it seemed to get.

"Whoa," He muttered quietly, "Hopefully I can get out of here in time." He kept walking, stepping over another fallen tree and going a bit faster.

Now…which way did he come from again?

* * *

_Thirty minutes later…_

"I'm lost on my own in the woods, with nobody else in earshot and a low phone battery. Great." He grumbled, before taking a deep breath, "JUST GREAT!" He yelled, knowing that there wasn't anybody around that could hear him. Not for at least another two kilometers. Zak could only mumble and growl to himself as he sat down, sighing deeply. What was he going to do? His phone only had ten percent of power. He didn't want to call his mom or dad. He didn't even want to use his flashlight and risk wasting the battery if he was going to keep getting lost.

This was perfect. Stuck in the woods. At night. How much better could it get? The sky was clear, thankfully. But that was it. It didn't make the forest much brighter.

Looking up into the sky, Zak watched as the stars began to appear. He never really stopped to properly look at how those many sparkling suns slowly came into view as the sun vanished in the horizon. One appeared. And then another. And another.

Then…he saw one single star. This one was the brightest of them all.

Unlike the others that were also bright, this one seemed to shine the most. A single, larger speck of light in a dark-blue sea of millions of others.

Just from seeing this, Zak realized that maybe he could make a wish.

"Pffff, yeah right," The boy chuckled, shaking his head, "Like that'll actually work. It's only a child's dream."

Despite his own words, his eyes did not leave the bright orb. Deep in his mind, it was telling him to just go for it. Even though he was twenty years old, and that the 'wish upon a star' thing was just pure imagination, his mind was saying that he should take the plunge and just wish for something.

Rolling his eyes, Zak sighed, "Well, okay. Not like it'll actually work." Looking up into the sky, he kept his eyes on the star and took a breath.

"If you really are a…wishing…star…there is one thing…that I really wish for. To escape. To get away from…all this stress of the real world and…go somewhere else. Experience a different life, maybe. Take a new perspective on the world. Go. On an adventure. I just wish…to be something different."

He finished. He waited.

How long did it usually take for a star to grant a wish?

"I think I just did the stupidest thing in my whole life." Zak drawled, head dropping into his hands dejectedly, "I'm stuck in the woods on my own, with no chance of anybody being out here and I just wished to a friggin' ball of hot air, millions of miles from here. Yeah, it's…it's a good night so far." He sarcastically muttered.

The young man sat there for a few more minutes, ignoring the chilly air that began to settle in. After what seemed like an eternity of ear ringing silence, the sound of a truck alerted him, bringing him back to reality as he whipped his head around in search of the direction it came from. If there was a truck…then that meant a ride home! Finally, his eyes managed to catch the glow of the headlights a few feet away from him.

'_Finally,_' He thought as he started to walk in the direction of the truck, '_Someone who can help._'

But when he got only a quarter of the way, he noticed something odd about his surroundings. In fact…an eerie feeling suddenly wormed its way into his gut. There was a fog beginning to obscure his view and a strange light forming right above him. It was slowly growing bigger and brighter by the second. Even the wind began to pick up, causing the fog to swirl and move around him like a smoky whirlpool.

"Whoa, hey," He shuddered, "What's going on?"

Before he could ask or even process any further of what was happening, an invisible force was slowly lifting him from the ground. Now he was beginning to panic.

"WHOAHEYWHATISTHIS?!" He babbled out of fear and confusion, kicking his legs and waving his arms frantically, hoping to get himself down. But it was no use as he stayed locked in one place. The light grew brighter and the fog got thicker.

Then…a voice broke through the frightening ordeal.

"_**Do not be afraid, child.**_" A woman's voice drifted softly into his ears. Oddly, just from hearing the serene tone of it, it lightly calmed him down. But it still didn't help but make him afraid of whom it belonged to.

"What? Who…who are you? What is this?" Zak asked, looking up the light, the source of the voice coming from there.

"_**I have heard your call. To be different. To experience a new life.**_" It spoke, her words flowing in a smooth and gentle tone, "_**I am here to grant you your request. You have a good heart in you, child. The northern lands will need your help.**_"

Zak blinked at her words. His wish really worked? But not only that, but someone or…something, had heard him? And what did she mean that the 'northern lands' need his help?

"What? Wait a sec', what do you mean? I thought it was just-!" Before he could continue further with his questions, bright blue whisps of light began to envelope his body, swirling around his limbs and face.

"There is no time for me to explain. I cannot stay in this world for much longer." The female voice said once more. But as the lights around began to grow brighter, Zak could feel an odd and calming feeling come over him as his eyes began to droop from the energy wafting through his body.

"Who…who are you?" He asked.

He was only met with silence. But before he closed his eyes, the voice spoke once more.

"_**My wings are the night sky. I am the sun that lights the day.**_" It said, before finishing.

"_**I am…Nocturna.**_"

Upon finishing, the wisps of light began to swirl faster and much brighter around the young man, to the point of engulfing him in a cocoon of light.

The cocoon began to emit a high pitched sound as it slowly started to shrink down smaller and smaller. It kept shrinking until it was only the size of a baseball. As the sound slowly disappeared, the cocoon set itself down on the log where Zak had been sitting minutes before. The orb separated into several strands of spiritual light, revealing the young man who was inside.

Only…he was no longer human.

* * *

"Tom, please tell me I wasn't the only one who saw that!" A woman exclaimed as she shined her flashlight in the direction where a large light had suddenly formed and disappeared. Her partner, Tom, followed close behind her, adjusting his glasses as he switched on his own light.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't and thought I was seeing things, Amanda, but…I did." He said breathlessly, partially shaken from the strange phenomenon.

"And that fog! It just came out of nowhere! And as soon as it appeared, it was gone!" The woman, Amanda, said as she stepped over twigs and hidden rocks. She was of a short and thin build, her brunette hair tied in a ponytail. Tom was a bit taller, short cut hair and a thicker build.

"What do you think it was?" Tom asked, trying his best to swat away lose and low hanging branches.

Amanda shrugged her shoulders, having never seen such an event happen before, "I don't know. But I want to see if anything is still around." She said, finally reaching the clearing where the light had appeared. The two shone there flashlights around the area. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Nothing burned. Nothing strange. Everything seemed normal.

"Huh," The woman huffed softly, "I don't see anything. Do you think it was just some sort of...natural event?"

"Amanda?" Tom called, the woman turning to him with a curious look, "Come here." He then whispered, gesturing with his free hand to come over to him. Furrowing her brow, she trudged over and knelt down beside him, and looked at what he found.

She gave a small gasp when she saw a bat lying flat on the bark.

Tom carefully placed his light onto the trunk and picked up the little animal into his hand. He was careful not to move it too much.

"Poor little guy," He whispered softly, "He must've been too exhausted to roost properly." He said, holding his hands out to Amanda so she could get a look at the small critter.

"It's still breathing." The woman confirmed, gently stroking a finger over the bats head, "Do you think its hurt?"

"I don't know." Tom shrugged, but got to his feet, cupping the bat in his left hand as he took out a handkerchief. Bundling it up he carefully placed the bat onto it, which instinctively seemed to latch onto it, but never woke up. Amanda couldn't help but smile at how cute it looked as it slept.

"Let's take him back to the shelter." Tom finally spoke, "Maybe a little bit of warmth and food will help his little guy get back to normal."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." The woman responded, both of them getting up and heading back to their truck. The man opened the rear door and set the bat down inside a medium-sized cage, with more blankets making a large nest inside, in case it woke up. It was only a precaution so the little animal wouldn't hurt itself if it tried to fly around inside the truck. After making sure it was safe and wouldn't bump around too much, Tom closed the cage and got into the driver's seat. Amanda got into the passenger's seat, buckling up as the engine revved to life.

"What species do you think it is?" She asked, "It's almost the same size as a silver-haired, but it's bigger and the wings are much larger."

Tom shrugged as he did his seatbelt, "I'm not sure. It's not a southern breed, for sure. Otherwise, it wouldn't have fit in my hand so easily." Shifting the gear to 'drive', he looked at Amanda briefly, "After we get back to the shelter we can try and find out what type of bat he is."

* * *

_A few hours later…_

"He couldn't roost on his own. Never left the blanket when they put him back on it. Grania, do you think he's hurt?" A male voice whispered. Sounding concerned and curious. It sounded like it belonged to a teenager.

'_Who..who is that?_' Zak thought as he slept, shifting lightly as he heard another one speak. This one sounded like a girl.

"I don't think so, Nuri. He nearly slipped off the branch when they tried, but, I don't think he's been hurt in anyway. He didn't latch on like we always do. They barely caught him in time when he fell." It said, carrying a tone of pity and worry.

Zak stirred softly, clutching what felt like a blanket tightly. He was so tired. Who was talking?

"If he can't even latch on by instinct, he's like a newborn pup all over again. And I'm not looking forward to babysitting a bat who can't even roost by himself. I say we just leave him alone to figure it out himself when he wakes up." A more gruff and gravelly tone cut in. From the sound, it must've been a middle-aged man. A very grumpy one at that.

"Alden! Don't be cruel!" The same girl spoke again, speaking in a shushed and scalding tone, like she knew that Zak was trying to sleep, "If he has a head injury like I do, we have to try and help him any way we can. Right, Aga'?" She said, but the last part was aimed at someone else. Whoever this, 'Aga' was, remained silent.

He groaned and buried his face into the soft surface he was laying on. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He wanted to sleep! Too many voices talking at once.

The older voice scoffed, "Cruel? I'm just speaking what's on my mind. If you want to help him, fine. But leave me out of it."

There was a few seconds of silence before the other male, probably 'Nuri', spoke up, "How long do you think he'll be asleep?"

"Shhhh! Try not to be too loud." The voice, who he assumed was 'Grania', whispered, "He'll probably wake up when he's ready. Come on, guys. Let him have his rest."

Finally, there nothing but quiet. Zach let out a heavy sigh, yawning quietly as he made himself comfortable. Whatever he was sleeping with, it was warm and soft.

'_Hrrmph…finally…some peace and quiet._' He thought in relief. Reaching down, he pulled up the blanket that covered him and curled up lightly, bringing his legs up underneath himself.

It felt rather…leathery. Despite that, it was warm and he liked it.


	2. Chaper 1: New Faces, New Friends

To human ears, the enclosure was fairly quiet, save for the occasional squeak and screech that came from inside.

The animal shelter had just been closed for the night, the small number of bats that resided inside were slowly beginning to wake up and stretch for their nightly routine: Rest, fly, eat, nap and simply converse and visit one another.

Although they weren't usually around humans, this was all normal for them, as each of the bats had been brought to the shelter for numerous but relatable reasons. Some bats had their wing set in splints, healing from a broken bone. Others were bandaged in different areas on their bodies, having been injured in some way or the other. Whether it was from contact with another predator, or an accident with a foreign object.

Only a few had heard of the newcomer that was brought in just an hour before the shelter closed. Some were curious, as they heard some of the other bats say that he looked larger than a Silverwing. Some were worried and wondered whether he had suffered a head injury and was out cold, and if that was the reason he didn't latch onto the branch in the first place.

But they could only watch and wait as he was still asleep.

Pretty soon, though, they didn't have to wait any longer. The green-furred bat began to stir.

* * *

Zak lay sprawled out on his stomach, snoring loudly as a strand of saliva dripped down his chin. Occasionally he'd let out a mutter of gibberish, and only a few coherent words, dreaming about unknown subjects that would even cause him to blurt out partial sentences. He let out a tired groan as he moved into different positions, a noise that sounded like numerous voices started building up around him.

It sounded like he was in a gymnasium. During a busy and loud pep rally.

In his head, he wanted to sleep more, but his body was telling him it was time to wake up. With another, but a more drawn out groan, he shifted around sluggishly until he was sitting on the soft surface he was sleeping on. It had to be his bed. It was always comfortably to snooze on. Without opening his eyes he began to walk subconsciously to a large tub of water, the leathery blanket dragging behind him with each step. It must've been stuck to his shoulders. But he was still half-asleep as he walked, not caring about the blanket as he stopped a few inches away from the tub. He stood there, swaying in his spot slowly, before finally breaking his own silence as he yawned. Stretching his arms out and rotating them further back to stretch, softly smacking his dry lips.

"Hmmmm…morning." He mumbled groggily, dipping his hands into the water and splashing some on his face. The water was a little cold, but it was good enough to wake him just a little more. He rubbed the water in thoroughly before he blindly tried to find a towel to dry off. His hand waved through the air, leaning more and more to the left. Just as he was on the verge of falling over completely, his hand landed on something dry.

'_Ah. Towel._' He grinned as he picked up the cloth and put it to his face, rubbing vigorously to dry the water off. But as he did, someone lightly coughed. It was the kind where, whoever it was, was trying to get his attention.

Zak stopped for a moment. Trying to process whether he actually heard it or if it was just in his head. He started wiping his face again. It was probably just his imagination.

Another cough. This time it was loud enough to grab his attention.

Looking up from the towel, Zak forced his eyes to open as far as they could go. Still half-asleep, he had to squint to keep the light from stinging them too much. Somebody was standing in front of him. Whoever it was, they were wearing something bright orange.

Actually...quite a lot of orange.

Shutting his eyes tightly, he opened them back up again, clearing up his vision for a better look. As his eyes adjusted, his eyebrows lifted a few inches in silent interest. It was a bat. Then he realized that it was a rather large one. It stood at almost the exact same height as him, maybe a couple of inches shorter, and was quite chubby. The bat sported bright orange fur, it's outer wings several shades, and a dark brown mohawk hairstyle and mane. Both of them stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. One looked at the other with confusion and surprise, while the other looked slightly offended and just as confused that his wing was being used as a towel.

Zak glanced down at the leathery membrane in his hands and back up to the orange bat. He blinked when he realized why it was staring at him with that strange look. What he thought was a towel was actually the bat's wing he was rubbing his face on.

"Oh, m'sorry." He mumbled, letting the membrane fall from his hands, still partially asleep but more alert. The bat only looked at him with an awkward grin and wiped off the dampness of the water from his wing. Zak tilted his head in wonder at what he was seeing. Without even thinking, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You're a big bat."

The bat, who was wiping off the last few drops of water from his wing, froze. His expression went blank, before it shifted into a look that screamed 'What did you just say to me?'. Looking back straight at him, the orange bat gave him what sounded like an amused chuckle and grinned.

"Do you mean that height or weight-wise?" It asked, crossing it's arms, the grin never leaving it's face.

Zak could've sworn that his heart and brain had stopped working for a split second, pupils shrinking lightly as he blinked in shock.

Did it just talk? And did it just...sass him?

He quickly stuck a pinkie into his ear and scratched, trying to clear it before he looked back at the still grinning face in front of him. Blinking once more, Zak struggled to find the words as his mind raced to try and process a heap of info. He knew he was awake and fully alert. That was for sure. But was he dreaming? He couldn't tell. His mouth opened and closed wordlessly, Zak gave a cough to compose himself and kept it shut. Finally, after a minute of awkward silence he managed to find what he wanted to say.

"Did...Did you, uhh..." He stuttered, struggling to get the rest of his words out, "Um...did you just...just talk?"

The bat raised an eyebrow, like the question didn't make sense to him at all. But his expression softened before it replied, "Yeah?"

Zak gulped. It did speak. He stepped back slowly, not taking his eyes off of him. The bat seemed to notice and immediately went to try and calm him down.

"Whoa, hey, calm down," It said, it's voice filled with genuine concern, "Look, I don't mean to scare you, okay? I was just coming to check if you were alright." But it did little to help as Zak backed up with faster steps, mind reeling from the fact that he was talking to a man-sized bat, who was also talking back to him. He spun around to try and walk away.

'_Okayyyyyy, I'm ready to wake up now!_'

But before he could take another step, another bat suddenly landed right in front of him, forcing him to come to a halt and stumble back.

"AHJEEZ!" Zak screamed. He hated it when things jumped out at him!

This one was a purplish-blue color, with hair and mane a brighter purple. It was much shorter than him. At least by a quarter.

"Take it easy, big guy, it's okay." This one said in a gentle tone. A female from the way it's voice sounded, "We won't hurt you."

"Whoa, okay, uhhh...this...I did not expect." Zak responded, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself. If this was indeed reality, he was giving a poor reaction to it. These bats didn't eat him while he was down. That was good. But then he remembered that they must be bug eaters. Not like the larger and scarier ones that eat meat. One more deep breath, exhaling slowly, Zak finally calmed down enough to look at the two bats that were trying to help him. "Okay, look. I think I overreacted with the, uhh...th-the talking thing earlier." He said, gesturing to the orange bat, "And I'm sorry for that."

"Oh, no, it's okay! I'm just glad you didn't lose your marbles the first day here!" He chuckled, but faltered and stopped when he received a scalding glare from the female. He chuckled nervously and scratched as his head, "Um, sorry." He mumbled.

"It's just that...it's a bit weird for me to be standing here, at this very moment...talking to bats who're as tall as me." Zak added, ignoring the male's comment on his sanity.

The female raised an eyebrow at him, "What's so strange about us being as tall as you? Actually, besides Alden, you're the tallest one here." She said with a smile.

"Because I'm a human. And...I think it must be a bit strange for you, too, to see a tiny human person standing in front of you, right?" Zak added, looking between the two bats, waiting for their response.

All he got were surprised and worried stares from the two bats, before they briefly glanced at each other, then back to him. The female bat spoke up first.

"Um...you think you're...a human?" She asked, looking like she was afraid she would offend him. But the question itself made him confused.

"Think I'm...? I am human! I don't mean to snap at you, but, I am a human, aren't I? Just like the ones who take care of all of you in this shelter." He said, trying his best to be clear and not get frustrated from their answers. Why did it feel like they thought he was crazy?

The male bat looked at him as well with a worried stare, "Well...because...you're a bat. Just like us." He said quietly, starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with Zak's behavior. The young man blinked. Did he just say...?

"A bat? No, I can't be, because I would know if I was a bat. I mean, if I was a bat, I would have wings, right? Look," He said, lifting his warms and spreading them out, "See?" He turned to look at his arms to make sure.

He froze.

He expected to see an ordinary arm held out to the side. But instead, he was looking at green, fur covered arm...and a large wing proudly extended out wide. Gulping, he looked to his left. The same thing. A green-furred arm and wing.

"N-No...wings..." He shuddered, following the membrane of his new wings, and looking at how it connected from the underside of the entire length of his arm, down the side of his body and how it connected down to his ankles. The sight of his legs made him gasp in horror. A single claw-like appendage stuck out where his heel would normally be. Three other toes on his feet were non-existent...only two large, clawed ones were in their place.

"H-Hah...Ah...Unh..." Zak sputtered, a strange sensation was building in his chest. And it wasn't a good feeling. His eyes frantically scanned his new form, his wings going limp as he looked down at what used to be normal human hands. Unlike his feet, he was only missing a single finger. Four digits on his 'claws' altogether. The membrane also connected in between them. making them look like webbed-fingers when relaxed and slightly stretched. His eyes grew wider. Beads of sweat formed as he started grabbing at his face. Did that change too?

It did. A muzzle jutted out from the very front of his face, and from what he could feel, his teeth felt a lot more sharper than normal.

'_Ohgodohgodohgodohgoddon'tletthisberealplease!_' He screamed in his mind, growing more and more scared as he discovered more of his new body.

All the two bats could do was watch him with concern, the female taking a slow step forward to the panicking human-turned-bat.

"Ookay, oookay, just...just calm down, okay? It's going to be alright, you probably just...hit your head, is all." She said in an as soothing tone as possible, hoping she could get the panicking bat to relax.

Zak tugged at his new ears, pulling them down to his eyes, "Haaaaahhhh..."

'_These, too?!_' He screamed mentally. Grasping at his head, he shut his eyes and dearly hoped that he would wake up from this nightmare. Why was he like this? How did he get like this? He wanted to wake up!

"Uh, dude?" The orange bat piped up, "Just take it easy, alright? There's no need to-"

He didn't get the chance to finish when Zak hit his breaking point. He took a deep and shaky breath and tilted his head upwards.

* * *

The night watch was always boring. What was there to guard against anyway? Poachers? Animal activists? He never heard of anyone breaking into an animal shelter for any reason whatsoever. The thick-bodied guard let out a small yawn, taking a sip of his coffee as he kept an eye on the monitors.

Suddenly, a small whistling sound began to emit from one of the speakers of the monitors.

A very raspy sounding one at that.

Furrowing his brow in confusion, the guard turned up the volume on each monitor, wondering where the sound was coming from. There wasn't anything in the wolf enclosure. The dog and cat pens were silent. They had fallen asleep an hour after the shelter closed. The other monitors didn't have the sound. The last monitor was for the bat enclosure. He switched the volume up.

The whistling sound turned louder when he did. The guard squinted from the sound and hissed from how piercing it was.

"What in the hell is that? A mating call?"

* * *

"Please, just calm down!" The female yelled over Zak's screaming, who thrashed and squirmed wildly on the ground as he pulled and tugged at his wings and his mane, babbling incoherent words as he took off running in another direction. But this proved to be useless, as due to the membrane connecting between his legs, he could only move his legs forward so far before he tripped over. He could only resort to occasionally crawling and kicking across the ground, "Screaming and panicking isn't going to make it any better!"

The orange male only stood back a few feet with another bat, this one a dark grey and black, both of them watching with perplexed stares.

Boy, this newcomer had quite a set of lungs on him.

"**I'M A BAT! HOW CAN I BE CALM?!**" Zak screamed, standing up and tugging his ears to his shoulders, shaking his head hard, "**I JUST WANT TO WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE! IT'S ALL JUST A BIG BAD NIGHTMARE!**"

"Someone _please_ shut that pup up before I do something about it!" A gravelly and irritated voice rang out over the screaming.

"**I HAVE FRIGGIN' WINGS AND CLAWS! I'M MISSING MOST OF MY TOES! I'M NAK-!**" He gasped, another thought slowly burrowing into his mind as he caught his breath, "Nake-...I'm..."

He took another look at himself. No clothes. No nothing. Only fur.

He looked back up to the three other bats, who could only stare at him worriedly. With a small, uneasy chuckle, Zak grinned.

"I'm naked." He teetered backwards. Collapsing with a heavy thud.

* * *

Grania, Alden and Nuri could only look at the unconscious form of the newcomer. Then they exchanged glances at each other. Neither knew what to think of the sight.

Before either could say anything, another bat, an old Silverwing by the name of Alden, landed not too far from them.

"Ah, finally." He dryly mumbled, "I thought I was the one who was going to go crazy because of his screaming." He looked at the younger bats prone form, "What was he going on about anyways?"

Grania could only shrug and softly mutter as she flapped over to the young bats side, "I don't know. He was trying to tell us that he was human. Then he took a look at himself and...well...he just...lost it." She said, softly brushing Zak's bangs out his face.

Agatone flew over beside her, giving her a curious glance as he made a few gestures with his claws. She merely nodded and smiled, "If you could, Aga', thanks."

The Greywing smiled and flew off deeper into the enclosure. Nuri soon joined Grania, kneeling beside the unconcious teen. Alden only snorted and scratched at his mane.

"Hmph, maybe he did hit his head, after all. Never heard of a bat try and say that they were a human." He gruffly said.

"But the way he just started freaking out," Grania replied, unsure of the young bats predicament, "What if he really is a human? Or at least, was a human? There's no way he would just completely forget that he was born a bat." The only answer she received was an annoyed sigh from the old Silverwing.

"Grania," Alden groaned, "There's no way that he was, in any way, a human before. He just hit his head. That's all."

Nuri found himself frowning at Alden's words. Sure, he could be quite a grump most of the time, but the way he was contradicting Grania's words made him feel a little miffed with the elder.

"How would you know that, gramps?" The chubby Brightwing answered, ignoring the irritated growl that the old Silverwing aimed at him, "The new guy hasn't told us why he was actually brought here, yet. You know, I don't think you ever told us why you brought here yet, either." At this, Grania turned and looked up at Alden as well.

"You know I hate those nicknames, Nuri." He muttered, before he turned away with another sigh, "And I already told you after you three got here. It's none of your business." He spread his wings, preparing to take off, "If he wakes up, don't bother me. I'm going to try and catch up on my napping."

With a leap, and a single beat of his wings, Alden took flight just as Agatone arrived with a dew dropped covered leaf clutched in his teeth. The Greywing briefly glanced at the older male before he turned back and handed the leaf to Grania.

"Thanks, Aga'." The Silverwing smiled, getting one in return from the Greywing, who nodded back at her. Setting the leaf down close to the newcomers head, the three bats sat quietly. At least until Nuri piped up with one more question.

"How long do you think he'll be out?"

Grania shrugged, "I don't know. Hopefully not for too long."

At that, Nuri remained silent, as they all watched the silent rise and fall of the new bat's chest. They were still a bit shaken up from his outburst, and greatly hoped that he wouldn't go into a screaming fit again.

* * *

Zak breathed slowly and softly, barely audible if it weren't for the subtle rise and fall of his chest. It felt almost peaceful if it weren't for the nagging feeling in the back of his mind of what had just transpired minutes before his collapse.

He was a bat.

No longer a human.

A bat.

He was still trying to figure out other possible reasons why or how he was transformed into one. Was it radiation? Was it by some force he couldn't comprehend? He knew that it wasn't any of those. Only one remained and he knew it was true. This...Nocturna, was responsible for his transformation. And Zak knew perfectly well who Nocturna was. But at the same time, he though it was impossible, and that it couldn't be true. She should've only existed in the books. Even they were a work of fiction. But somehow...she was real. As he kept running these thoughts through his mind, he could hear the familiar voices start up again. He tried to force himself to wake up, but his body seemed to refuse to do so.

Something cold and wet touched his lips. From the texture, and from whatever liquid was on it, it was a leaf. And it was water. Without opening his eyes, but managing to lift his head a little. A hand rested behind him and helped push him up a bit more, and with the extra leverage, he managed to slurp some of the droplets that slipped to his mouth. The droplets were big, but, he was relieved to feel the cool liquid run down his throat. Propping himself up with his elbows, he sat up more, opening his eyes. Due to the fall, his eyelids fluttered lightly before he could manage to open them fully.

Standing in front of him were the same three bats from before. The orange chubby one. A taller blackish grey one. He only caught a small glimpse of him during his freak-out. And the purplish blue female, who was kneeling right beside him with a large dew covered leaf. All of them look at him expectantly. And with great worry in their eyes. He could only stare back at them. No screaming. No frightened shenanigans. Just an awkward silence save for the numerous other squeaks and screeches in the enclosure.

"I'm..." He spoke, glancing at each of the three bats individually, "I'm not dreaming...aren't I?"

The female gave him a sympathetic smile and shook her head, "No, I'm afraid not."

"This is all real, my good man." The orange bat added with a small grin. The grey one only nodded. But then seemed to realize that he answered with the wrong nod, and quickly shook his head no.

Zak only responded with a sigh, rubbing his head with a groan, "Ohhhhh, what luck. I should know better than to make wishes to a random star in the sky."

The female could only put a claw to his shoulder, "Heyyyy, come on, being a bat isn't all that bad. If you really did use to be a human, the best we can do is fly!" She added, giving Zak an encouraging smile.

"Unless you count being on the birds and beasts 'most hated' list." The orange added in.

The female quickly turned to him with scolding glare, as did the grey one, but he did his in a more stern and almost parental manner. The orange shrank from their gazes, giving a nervous chuckle, "Eheh...just...just saying."

"What Nuri is _trying_ to say," The female said, casting a raised eyebrowed frown at the male, Nuri, "Is that we bats also have a bit of...bad history with the birds and beasts. Mainly, we've all been 'banshed' to the night for not taking sides in the great war a long time ago." She said, holding out the leaf for Zak, wordlessly asking him if he wanted more. He took it with a nod and a soft 'thank you'. He tilted the leaf for the last few dew drops, licking his lips in relief as the water soothed his dry throat.

"My name's Grania, by the way. A Silverwing, in case you were wondering about my blue fur." She said, smiling as he finished the water. Getting to his feet, Zak gave a smile of his own and nodded in acknowledgment.

"I'm Zak," He said, "Nice to meet you."

"Mr. Orange over there is my friend, Nuri. He's a Brightwing." Grania gestured to the teen, before quickly leaning in close to Zak's ear, "Pretty fitting name, don't you think?"

"I can hear you, Grani'." Nuri said, smirking at the female's nickname, "And I know it's because of how bright our fur is. Great to properly know ya, Zak." He grinned, giving a two fingered salute-like wave.

"Nice to meet you, too, Nuri." Zak responded, before being pulled over to the taller bat.

"This is also my friend, Aga'. Well, Agatone is his full first name, but I like to call him Aga' for short." She said, looking up into the smiling face of the tall male, "I think he likes it, too. He's a Greywing."

Zak looked up and gave a shy wave, "Hi."

While he expected for the Greywing to respond, he did not expect him to start gesturing with his claws, and even his ears, as they flicked and swiveled in different directions. But from how coordinated and smooth the gestures were...it told him that he was using a rather familiar way to talk. Zak looked to Grania with a confused face.

"Sign language?" The female nodded, her smile faltering lightly.

"Did he...?" Zak asked, looking back up to Agatone. The Greywing gave a soft and, slightly saddened, smile as he raised his head up high, then pushing down some of his crest fur to show his neck. When he leaned in close, Zak immediately saw why.

Right along Agatone's neck was an ugly looking scar. It had healed some time ago, from how faint it was against his dark fur, but still very visible if one were to step close enough.

"Oh, gosh." Zak winced, noticing the jagged edges of healed flesh, "How did that happen?"

As soon as he asked, Agatone began to sign with his hands again. Only this time, rather than make different signs, he began to make gestures that looked like he was trying to reenact what happened. Zak watched as he spread open his wings, then gestured with his claw in the air.

"You were...flying?" Agatone nodded, then made a motion that his shoulder had been hurt, before moving his hand down to his other and smacking it down with a soft slap. Zak's eyes brightened when he pieced the gestures together.

"Your wing started to hurt while you were flying and it caused you to crash." He stated, causing the Greywing to smile and nod fast, happy that he was slowly understanding his sign language. "And wherever you crashed injured your throat like that?" Agatone gave another nod, then pointed at Grania. Zak looked at her. Realization came to him again.

"You taught him to sign." He stated in amazement. She only nodded happily.

"He was saying before, 'Nice to meet you, too.'." Grania informed.

'_Wow,_' He thought to himself, '_I never thought bats would know what sign language was. Let alone be able to teach it to others._'

"You'll eventually get used to it," Nuri said as he came over and joined the small group, "And it'll be like having a regular conversation. Only the other person is using their hands to talk, rather than their voice."

Suddenly, Grania perked up with a gasp, "Oh! There's someone else you should meet! I think you'll like her just as much as me! C'mon!" She said, once again grabbing Zak by his wrist, roughly dragging him behind her. The other two males simply watched.

"Ah, boy." Nuri shook his head and grinned, "The 'twin'."

Agatone only chuckled silently.

* * *

Zak stumbled as he tried to keep his footing, "Whoa! Grania, I'm not exactly well balanced here! Can we slow down?!"

"She's not much farther! Just right behind this potted plant!" She exclaimed excitedly. Whoever Grania wanted him to meet, she sure was excited about it. Right when they got around the large vase of the plant, Grania stopped, Zak screeching to halt behind her with a yelp.

"Whoa!" He cried, staggering to his feet, "So...who else am I meeting?"

Grania took his head in her claws and faced him to where she was looking, "Right there! See?" She said with a smile.

Right in front of them, and standing upright against the shelf's wall, was a large hand mirror. Looking into it, he spotted his own and Grania's reflections.

This who she wanted him to meet?

"Heyyyy," Grania exclaimed, then grinning to Zak, "I didn't know you had a twin, too!"

He could only look at her with a worried glance. She thought her own reflection was another bat? He realized that he was silent and didn't say a word.

He didn't want to be rude, so he played along, giving the best smile he could muster. "OH! Well, I didn't know I had a twin either!" He laughed, going along with her so he wouldn't offend or hurt her feelings in anyway, "So! What's your twin's name? Mine's...uhhh...Bartholomew!"

"She's my sister, Faora!" She said, hopping over closer to the mirror, her reflection mimicking the same action, "She's almost the same as me, only the scar I got from the human machine is on the left side of her head!" Grania informed, tilting her head to show Zak a tiny and faint scar just above her right eyebrow.

'_Must've been a head injury._' Zak wondered, '_Probably knocked something loose._' He quickly shook his head with a frown, '_Whoa, never say or think it like that, man! It's a real injury! Don't make fun of her for it!_' He noticed Grania was still explaining the similarities and differences between her and 'Faora'. He smiled and kept on listening, not wanting to interrupt and be rude.

"The only thing that tends to get on my nerves about her is that she always seems to," She turned to glance at her reflection, which slowly did the same, ", like mimicking," He eyes turned into a cutely agitated glare, the mirror returning her look back at her, ", everything I say and do-_WOULD YOU CUT THAT OUT, FAORA?!_" Grania suddenly shoved her snout against the glass, hissing at her reflection. Zak had to cover his mouth to muffle a laugh from the somewhat cute display, the female muttering unintelligible, and possibly inappropriate sayings at 'Faora'.

"I swear, Faora, it's like you live to annoy me." Grania muttered to her reflection once more, turning back and putting a smile on her face for Zak, "Anyway! If I'm not nearby, you can just talk to her! She's fun and quite a joker!"

Zak only grinned and nodded, "I'll remember that. It's nice to meet you, too, Faora!" He said, waving to 'Faora' in the mirror. He knew that she was only a reflection of Grania, but he didn't want to say anything and wanted to be supportive of her.

"Oh, I just remembered!" She suddenly piped up, "You don't know what kind of bat you are, right?"

Zak gave a shake of his head. He never thought about it until now, "No, I'm afraid I don't."

"Well, lets see. You're green and black. The inside of your wings are grey instead of the usual brighter green, but, that could be just something genetic." Grania muttered softly, looking at every inch of Zak's body to try and figure out what breed he was. Finally, she gasped in realization and smiled, "You're a Greenwing!"

"A Greenwing?" The green bat echoed.

"Yeah! If you were any other color besides green you wouldn't be a Greenwing now, would you?" She grinned.

Zak couldn't help but smile at her personality. Random, friendly and just the right amount of crazy at times? Why did she remind him of a certain pink, party loving, pony character?

He was snapped out his thoughts when Nuri suddenly popped in, "Hey, guys! It's dinner time! You wouldn't want to miss the tiger moths, do ya'?" He said excitedly before taking flight. Grania immediately spread her wings and followed after him.

"Nuri, wait up!" She called, leaving Zak to watch them fly off towards the main doors to the enclosure. Grania stopped and turned back to him, "C'mon, Zak! You're hungry, aren't you?" She asked. He could only gulp and look at his wings. He quickly looked back up to her.

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, I'll be right there!" He called back, walking over to the ledge of shelf. He took a quick peek over the edge of the shelf. From a bat's point of view, the floor looked like it was quite a ways down, only a few branches in the way should he ever fall.

Could he do it? He didn't even know how to use his new wings.

He looked back up to Grania, who was still watching him expectantly. Taking a deep breath, he spread his wings out, preparing to jump from the ledge.

'_Well,_' Zak thought to himself, growing more and more nervous as the seconds passed, '_If they can do it..._'

With a single grunt and a leap, he started flapping his wings as hard and fast as he could. Though he flapped unevenly, he was staying in one place in the air. He was doing it! He was flying! He was-!

Falling.

"**AHHHHHH!**" Zak screamed as his wings gave out. This time, he couldn't regain his balance and could only spin and somersault uncontrollably towards the floor. He tried to reach out for some of the branches that flew past him. Most of which he missed, only managing to catch hold of one, but immediately slipped as he kept falling. Over the wind rushing past his ears, he could hear Grania screaming out to him from above. Seeing the floor rushing up to meet him, Zak could only shut his eyes and wait for the incoming pain of the impact.

Several seconds passed. Nothing happened. There was no impact. No pain. Only the odd sensation of hanging upside down. Zak slowly opened his eyes, which immediately widened when he saw that he was only a few feet away from the floor. He looked around. Did his feet catch a branch at the last minute?

"So you don't know how to fly." An aged voice spoke. Zak looked up and saw that an old Silverwing had caught hold of his foot with his own, keeping them both aloft in the air. The Silverwing looked at him with an annoyed gaze, growling to him like he was already the most troublesome bat in the world, "You really are just a pup." Before he could say anything else, the Silverwing flew higher. Once they reached the shelf, Zak was lowered down until he could keep himself up with his hands before he was let go completely. Grania and Agatone quickly rushed over, worry etched into their faces.

"Zak! Are you hurt? What happened?" Grania asked, checking him to see if he had gotten any other injuries.

"N-No, I...I think I'm okay. Just...just a little shaken up." He answered, noticeably quivering as he kept himself in a sitting position.

The Silverwing, Alden, only gave a half interested and half annoyed glare, "He would've gotten a good blow to the head if he hit the floor." He stated rather bluntly, causing Zak to look at him with surprise, "At best, the only injuries he would've gotten would be a concussion and a broken rib or two."

"I...T-Thanks...for saving m-" Zak went to say, only to be cut off.

"Don't mention it." Alden said, "_Ever._" He quickly added, the teen wincing from the hard tone, "You need to learn to use those wings. If not, you'll be easy prey for owls and other land beasts."

"I think he gets it." Grania cut in softly, looking up at the old bat as she helped Zak to his feet, "We can teach him how."

"Then it'll be you, Nuri and Agatone to teach him. I'm not going to help babysit him for you." He turned to look down at Zak again, "You'd better learn fast. Not all of us stay here forever." Without another word, the Silverwing took off deeper into the enclosure.

Zak couldn't help but feel a bit offended at the old male.

"Who's that old grump?" He frowned, looking at the three who stayed with him.

"That's Alden." Nuri replied, coming over wih several tiger moths clutched in his claws, "Don't worry about him, buddy, he's always cranky and miserable."

"He probably has a good reason for it." Grania added, "But he usually keeps to himself and rarely lets others speak to him."

"Gee, I wonder why." Zak said, frowning at how annoyed Alden sounded with him. He could learn to fly, just like Grania said! Did he think that he wouldn't be able to learn?

Well, he hoped he could learn how to fly properly. He didn't want to be a bat who remained grounded just because he didn't know how to fly. Nuri seemed to notice the look on his face and patted his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Hey, don't let him bother you too much, okay? We'll help you out whenever you're ready. But for now, why don't you eat? You must be hungry." He said, handing a struggling tiger moth to Zak. He could only stare at it with wide eyes.

He'd forgotten about the bats usual diet.

Bugs.

"Uhhh." Was all Zak could say, watching as the other three happily crunched and chowed down on the wriggling insects. He looked down at his own, which stared back at him. It had stopped struggling and was merely twitching it's leaf-shaped antennas. Did he really have to eat this? Did his taste for food also change like the rest of his body?

"Go ahead, bud'," Nuri spoke, still chewing on his tiger moth, no doubt savoring the flavor, "It's good!"

"Well," Zak replied, shrugging his shoulders uneasily, "It's just that...humans...don't really eat bugs as much as you guys do. I'm not sure if I would like it."

In truth, he didn't want to eat the tiger moth at all. It was just too gross!

"Give it a try, Zak! I'm sure you'll like it!" Grania encouraged, having already finished her own moth.

The green bat looked down at the moth again, shuddering at the sight. With a shaky breath, he sighed.

'_Oh, well_,' He thought in defeat, '_Mind as well buck up and get used to it._'

Opening his mouth, he popped the tiger moth in quickly, not wanting it to try and fly off. But he didn't chew. Nor did he swallow.

"Mmmm." He tried to sound like he enjoyed it, giving a forced smile as the moth fluttered lightly in his mouth. Nuri only grinned and raised an eyebrow at him. Seeing this, he smiled wider, keeping his mouth shut, "Mmmhmmm!"

The Brightwing only chuckled, "You have to chew it to get the real flavor, man."

Zak's shoulders slumped and his smile diminished into a disgusted frown. It looked like he didn't have any other choice. Shutting his eyes tight, he started biting down on the fuzzy bug. There was a sickening crunch as he chewed. He expected a horrible taste from the bug. But as he chewed, his eyes brightened up with amazement. He started chewing more enthusiastically.

'_Wow. It's so...delicious!_' He swooned silently. So his body wasn't the only thing that changed. His taste buds changed, too!

"It's good, huh?" Nuri chuckled, noticing Zak's reaction to the tiger moth. The green bat swallowed and licked his lips in satisfaction.

"I thought I wouldn't enjoy it, but...it was good!"

"Told ya' you'd like it!" Grania giggled, handing another tiger moth to the green bat. This time, Zak didn't hesitate and immediately chowed down on the delicious morsel.

For a while, the four of them sat together, simply enjoying a meal of tiger moths and meal worms. After having their fill, they sat down and relaxed, listening to the clamor of the other bats in the enclosure. After what seemed like an eternity, Zak broke the silence with a single question.

"So, about those flying lessons." He spoke, a smile spreading on his face, "When do we start?"

* * *

**I hope you all are enjoying this story so far! The next chapter will focus on Zak learning how to use his new wings!**


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